I’ve posted on several occasions about the stigma attached to mental health, and in particular how the ‘celebration’ of Hallowe’en has become a massive commercial event, far removed from its pagan origins. I see no merit or validity in Hallowe’en costumes which mock mental illness, by the use of such names as ‘nutter’ and ‘psycho,’ and the even more blatant ‘mental patient.’ This post from last year is worth sharing again, I think.
The major retailers seem to have learned the lesson but you don’t have to spend long online to find such costumes still available from the specialist fancy dress sellers. We need to keep spreading the message till they all stop!
When I was a kid Halloween wasn’t an event we marked in any way. Here in the UK we were busy making our guys for the forthcoming Guy Fawkes/Bonfire Night celebrations on 5th November, and hadn’t yet imported the commercialisation of Halloween from the US. So I’m sorry to say, American friends, that your celebration for tonight rather passes me by! That doesn’t mean that I don’t recognise its importance to you, but it does seem to me to be a little artificial for it to be ‘celebrated’ here. Of course, I have some treats ready in case I have some little visitors this evening, but this will be my 9th Halloween at my current address and I’ve yet to see any trick or treaters!
As retailers fall over themselves to make money from Halloween the boundaries of taste have often been forgotten. I recently reblogged a post I wrote…
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Take It Easy 
Well said. I don’t get Halloween either. The amount of sweets children are given when they wouldn’t normally be allowed all that sugar and chemicals is mind-boggling. We normally have a sign up issued by the local poloce for people not wanting to participate, but we have a few new neighbours with lovely kids and so just in case they come round I’ve made up bags of trail mix, grapes and mandarin oranges!
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In history it is actually a pagan festival called Samhain which has been appropriated by the Americans as a commercial bonanza. I guess it reached here in that modern guise around 25 years ago, and like you I think it ridiculous to fill kids with sugar for a meaningless ‘celebration.’ I hope the neighbours’ kids enjoy their goody bags 😊
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We used to have Mischief Night, the night before Bonfire Night.
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Did we? That’s a new one on me. It clearly hadn’t reached deepest East Kent by the time of my childhood!
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Might have been an Up North thing 😉
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Funnily enough, I’ve just read a piece by Robert Crampton in the Times, reminiscing about taking part in it during his teenage years in Yorkshire. I don’t think it travelled south – we were far too civilised for that 😂
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Nah, you hanged Guy Fawkes and put him on a bonfire! 😉
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He was trying to blow up the seat of our government, seems fair enough to me! But it does give me an idea….. 👹
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😂
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